Okay everyone, we have made it to Whole 30 week 3! Phew, there where times when I thought this moment might not be possible. Times when I thought I would crumble to my chocolate and macaroni and cheese cravings. But will power prevailed and here we are, 3/4 done with Whole 30!!!
I have to admit, week 3 marked a major turning point in our Whole 30 journey. Our energy returned this week. In fact, we have higher and more steady energy levels than normal. Robocop works weird hour since he is a cop, which can really mess with his sleep. This is the first week where he came home from work and wasn’t completely exhausted. Also, I can honestly say I no longer have the overwhelming desire to cheat. It just does not seem worth it to me anymore. Don’t get me wrong, we are planning our first non Whole 30 meal…I think pizza and beer is winning (oh no I hear the paleo police coming!), but I think we are planning it now for fun, as opposed to overwhelming cravings. Because to be honest, at this point I could probably just keep eating Whole 30 for the rest of my life. That is if I had someone to clean up after me…I am desperately in need of a break from doing dishes!
Day 15
Breakfast: Breakfast today was a meal that is quickly becoming my favorite. A sliced banana served with almond butter. I love it. I mean LOVE it. It is my happy place. And the best part? No cooking required! No dirty pots! Easy cleanup! Heaven.
Lunch: I forgot to take pictures of lunch today. The reason I forgot was because I basically just grazed on all the leftovers we had in the fridge. For whatever reason we have been doing much better with not wasting food while on Whole 30 than we normally do. I am usually really adamant about not wasting food, but still there are times when I make too much rice or pasta. However, on Whole 30 we tend to eat everything we make! I am not exactly sure why our waste is so much less, but I am really happy it is!
Dinner: For dinner tonight I made organic chicken sausages with sauteed pepper, pureed cauliflower, and baked carrots with onions. This is a meal I make when I am not doing Whole 30 so I was really happy to find a sausage version that worked! Yum!!!
I was really excited when I found the chicken sausages that were Whole 30 compliant for dinner. I love chicken sausage and it provided a nice break from the meat we have been eating so far. I am starting to realize that success on the Whole 30 program is just as much psychological advantages as it is about willpower. For instance having chicken sausage and peppers is a meal that I love even when not doing Whole 30. So finding a way to make a Whole 30 version is great because for me that means I am more likely to make this meal again when my Whole 30 is finished. It fits well into my life!
Day 16
Breakfast: Breakfast this morning was a hard boiled egg and avocado. I am starting to think this is the perfect breakfast. The protien in the egg will keep you full until lunch and the fatty creaminess of the avocado is very satisfying.
Lunch: I forgot to take a picture of lunch again (I know, bad Jessica), but it consisted of leftover sausage from last night, some carrots and a handful of almonds. One of the things I am learning to survive Whole 30 lunch is to make enough food the night before so that you have leftovers. Trust me this will make you life so much easier!
Dinner: Okay at this point you might be saying…lay off the spaghetti squash already, I mean you have made it every week! While that is true I would respond by saying I make it because it is that good! And easy, and filling, and very satisfying. I love spaghetti squash. In most instances I prefer it to real pasta. So I make it! This time I did a paleo version of spaghetti and meatballs. I used ground turkey for the meatballs, browned them in a skillet and then added them to the sauce to simmer. Delicious.
Bonus Dessert! Robocop and I have been experimenting with a baked Whole 30 compliant apple dessert and I think we have it mastered. I will be posting the recipe sometime in the next couple of weeks, but it couldn’t be simpler. Apples, little butter, cinnamon and nutmeg, bake and enjoy!
Day 17
Breakfast: Guess what I had for breakfast today…more eggs! Who would have thought right? So, I know it may just be my lack of creativity in only eating eggs for breakfast, but they are cheap and easy and keep me full. I have thought about doing a bunch of mixed berries and nuts, which would be a great option, but right now organic berries are around $6 a pint at my grocery store and I can’t see spending $10-$15 on breakfast. So I will go on eating my eggs. I did add a side of almonds though, which was nice.
Lunch: Lunch today was really simple. I had a mixed greens salad with some shredded chicken I prepared the night before. I made my own balsamic dressing and viola…lunch! I love it when I remember to prep, it is such a lifesaver.
Dinner: Okay I am embarrassed to admit that it hadn’t occurred to me before today to make kabobs. They might be the perfect Whole 30 meal! Roasted meat and veggies. Awesome. And you cook it on the grill so there is almost no cleanup! I marinaded the chicken for a couple of hours in mustard, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and fresh herbs. I also served them with a side of mashed sweet potatoes and bacon, which are Robocop’s invention and he is becoming quite good at if I do say so myself!
One interesting thing I am noticing about Whole 30 is that it is getting Robocop more interested in cooking and coming up with things to eat for dinner. We are starting to come up with ideas together and he has even started to create a couple of dishes on his own! When you have to cook your own food 3 meals a day, it forces you to get creative, which is always more fun when you have help! Stay tuned for some of Robocop’s inventions on the blog…they are actually really good!
Day 18
Breakfast: I was pretty hungry this morning so I had a hard boiled egg, half and avocado and a lot of roasted almonds. The nuts really helped me to keep me full until lunch. I made them myself by roasting almonds with coconut oil, fresh rosemary, and sea salt. It was really easy and they were delicious.
Lunch: For lunch today I had some shredded chicken with Chocolate Banana Snowballs, a banana, and some mixed nuts. I made the chicken ahead of time, so all I had to do was throw it in a Tupperware container. Also, I really like packing the snowballs because they make a great on-the-go snack.
Dinner: Dinner tonight was a chicken and pepper curry concoction. I sauteed some chicken, bell peppers and onions until cooked. I added curry powder, turmeric, chicken broth and organic coconut milk. I let it all simmer for about 15 minutes. I then served it over cauliflower rice, which I like because it helps to soak up all that delicious sauce!
Day 19
Breakfast: Today for breakfast I did a simple scramble of eggs, onions and jalapenos, my go to breakfast. The jalapeno and onions give it a little zing to help me start my day off right!
Lunch: We were out running errands today so we ended up stopping at a local restaurant for lunch. On their appetizer menu they had some bacon wrapped steak tips. They were delicious!
Dinner: For dinner I made a turkey version of these Jalapeno Chicken Burgers. I love this recipes because it is simple and delicious. Also I am an avocado junkie, so if it has guacamole I am in!
This week, especially the last part of the week, this new diet is getting easier. I don’t feel like I am going to pass out any more from being exhausted and my desire to cheat is dwindling. At this point last week I would not have trusted myself in the same room as an unattended cheese pizza, but today I honestly think if it was there I could pass it up! Now I am not saying I will never eat cheese pizza again, that would be crazy talk…but I am enjoying the fact that I am becoming just as happy not eating it, as I used to be eating it.
Day 20
Breakfast: Breakfast today consisted of 2 eggs over easy and half a sliced avocado. I am starting to believe (well actually probably have believed for a while) that it is impossible to eat too much avocado. Sorry I just don’t think you can do it. Avocado makes everything better!
Lunch: Lunch was a salad of mixed greens with shredded chicken, Chocolate Coconut Snowballs, almonds and an apple.
Dinner: Dinner tonight was phenomenal! I marinated chicken breasts in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, rosemary and thyme. Then I spread a ton of stone ground mustard on top and baked them. Yum. I also made some pureed cauliflower and sauteed brussel sprouts. This dinner was perfect and totally hit the spot.
Today is the first day I have felt 100% myself and maybe even a better version of myself. I finally had the energy to exercise, which was awesome! Aside for walking the dog I just haven’t been up to it since I started this Whole 30.
Day 21
Breakfast: Breakfast today was simple, just a hard boiled egg and roasted almonds. I opted for this breakfast because I had some work to catch up on and didn’t want to spend a lot of time cooking.
Lunch: Lunch was a simple salad of fresh greens from my garden, shredded chicken, and homemade balsamic vinaigrette. I also had an apple and a Lara bar later on in the afternoon for a snack.
Dinner: For dinner tonight I wanted to change things up a bit and try something I had never made before – Paleo Siracha Chicken. I marinaded a couple of chicken breasts in rice wine vinegar, ginger, and paleo siracha sauce. I let it marinade in the fridge for a couple of hours and then baked it in the oven. It was pretty tasty actually and not too spicy. I served it with spinach and onions sauteed in coconut oil.
Today I am still feeling great! I was able to work out again and even had enough energy to clean the house. I hadn’t realized how tired I was the first couple of weeks, until I started feeling good.
Check out how the rest of my Whole 30 went:
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